I'm Jen and I'm a mum of seven. Life is hectic, crazy and certainly never dull. In between the mayhem and taking advantage of sleep deprivation, I'm also a freelance writer, sometimes media contributor and do-er of stuff around the house. My first parenting book "The Real Mum's Guide to Surviving Parenthood" is coming out later this year. You can like and follow me on Facebook too at https://m.facebook.com/mamatude7.ie/, Twitter at mama_tude or email me at mamatude7@gmail.com

Friday, 1 April 2016

Breastfeeding shaming

I have read a huge amount online in recent weeks about
episodes of breastfeeding shaming which still seems to happen on a much larger
scale than I would have expected. My son
is almost seven months old and is breastfed.
No big deal in my eyes. He’s a baby.
He gets hungry. He gets fed - pretty
much wherever and whenever necessary. He’s slightly (very slightly) more
predictable now that he’s older but, in the early days, I knew that any kind of
an outing would most likely involve me having to feed my baby in public. Now,
I’m not a whip ‘em all out kinda girl, (except that time I walked into my
daughter’s school for a presentation and hadn’t put them completely away after
feeding the little guy in the car – however, that wasn’t deliberate and she’s
slowly recovering from the trauma and embarrassment I caused her) but then
again I don’t know any breastfeeding mother who is. A huge amount of the time,
no one would even know I was feeding the baby and I think this is the case for
most mothers. It has happened, however,
and usually at the most inopportune time, that my son has decided to suddenly
stop feeding, turn around, give a gummy grin to a passerby and expose my boob
to any poor unsuspecting and potentially easily offended individual sitting or
standing in my line of vision.

I’ve never been made to feel uncomfortable breastfeeding my
baby in public. I’ve never had a disapproving look, someone moving seat or a
comment about whether or not an appropriate proportion of my breast is on
show. I hope it’s not just a case that
I’ve been lucky. I hope the stories of
breastfeeding shaming, while apparently plentiful at the moment, are a
collection of isolated incidents. I would hate to think that something so
natural could cause offence to so many people. To paraphrase a midwife I met
while expecting my first child “Breasts have a function. They are there to feed
your baby, even if men like to play with the empties!” For me breastfeeding is
hugely convenient in that it allows me to adopt the motto “have boobs, will
travel”. It saves me a huge amount of time in an already chaotic life. The biggest
inconvenience it causes me actually, is the restriction
in my wardrobe choices. I am now a
wearer, almost entirely of separates! #remembertoputthemawayafter #sorryhoney
#mamatude

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Mama-tude

Hi Everyone. I'm so excited to introduce my new blog . As a mum of seven life is hectic, crazy and certainly never dull. My house isn't always pristine and the beds aren't always made by lunchtime but it's a house filled with love, laughter, tears and the odd tantrum wink emoticon . I wouldn't change a thing! Looking forward to sharing the journey and chatting with you all. Surviving and enjoying parenthood with a little mama-tude! You can like and follow me on Facebook too at https://m.facebook.com/mamatude7.ie/